William J. "Bill" Preis, 71, passed away at 11:54 a.m. Friday, March 18, 2011, at his residence with his family by his side.
He was born on Jan. 6, 1940, in St. Louis, and was the son of the late Everette and Alice (Selby) Preis.
He married Alice Provence on Aug. 29, 1959, in Mountain Home, Ark. She survives.
Bill was a contractor and builder in the Alton area for more than 40 years. He was a member of the Calvary Baptist Church in Alton, a member of the Lewis and Clark Radio Club, a licensed pilot, a ham radio operator and a real estate broker. He flew radio-controlled airplanes, and he was a national champion.
He is survived by his wife, Alice; one daughter, Sandra Preis Hornsey and her spouse, Mike Hornsey, of Godfrey; one son, David Preis of Alton; three sisters; Nancy and her spouse, Marvin Akers, of Bolliver, Mo., Vikki and her spouse, Dave Hoxsie, of Bolliver and Carol McCloud of Greenville, Ill.; one brother, Ivan and his spouse, Carolyn Preis, of Yellville, Ark.; and many nieces and nephews.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents, one sister, Doris Anderson; and an infant brother.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, March 21, at Elias, Kallal & Schaaf Funeral Home in Godfrey. Funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 22, at the Calvary Baptist Church in Alton with the Rev. Andre' Dobson officiating.
Burial will follow at Valhalla Memorial Park in Godfrey.
Memorials may be made to Calvary Baptist Church in Alton or to Unity Hospice.
Online condolences and guestbook may be found at www.eliaskallalandschaaf.com.
God Bless
My sincere condolences to Alice and all of Bill's family. He was a wonderful, pleasant person that loved ham radio. Bill spent many years building and supporting some very high quality repeaters for so many to enjoy. Bill, K9DZY (his first call) and I met on 50 mcs. during our first year on the air. We will all miss Bill's willingness to share this great hobby but more than anything we will miss your spirit, Bill. May you rest in Peace.
I also met Bill as K9DZY many years ago and am grateful to have known him all of these years. He was a great asset to the Ham community and he went above and beyond to further the amateur radio hobby within our community. He will be sadly missed by all that knew him. Thank you Bill for your wonderful kindness and friendship that you have given to us. Rest in Peace, Bill. We will all miss you.
Spent most of my early years in ham radio using Bill's repeater system, which at the time was one of the best around the St. Louis area. I still have an entire box full of QSL cards from DX contacts I made using my first and very modest VHF/UHF station and his 2m/10m linked repeater system. He was very well-known in the community here, and will be missed by many.
-Pat WB0LSR
Farewell my old friend,say to Don Rose KC0fjh for me.wa0rrz